Protector of the Worlds
by Inuki
Summary: AR: Buffy and friends has to not only save their world but also another ancient world when The Book of the Four Gods is stolen. [crossover between Buffy/Fushigi Yuugi]
1. Destiny Escaped

**Protector of the Worlds**   
-----------------------------   
By. Diana Zhou AN: This story takes place during the beginning of season two of Buffy universe. Neither the characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Fushigi Yuugi belongs to me. Angel has not lost his soul. Buffy is a virgin because they never had sex. Buffy and the gang are only 15. I apologize ahead of time if anyone acts out of character. This is almost alternate universe. 

-----------------------------   
  


"Yummmy! Sweet buns, Hagan Das, cheesburger! I'm in heaven. . . Wait, where are you going? Why if my food disappearing? Who are these evil shadows? They are forcing me to take tests. They must be the one taking away my food! Give me back my food!" Yuuki Miaka shouted as she clobbered her sensei. She woke from the frightful dream where her food had been taken from her. Now she was in trouble with her sensei because she feel asleep in class. The future now seemed to be filled with buckets and hall way. 

The day had started out so well... 

*** 

"Miaka? Wan to go the National Library with me after school?" Hongo Yuui asked her best friend. "I need to borrow a few books only that library has" Yuui continued after a slight pause. 

Both Miaka and Yuui were junior high students studying for high school entrance exams. One of them was super smart. One of them was a glutton. People could only guess which was the glutton. 

What the girls didn't know was the great destiny waiting for them in the Library. They are destined to enter a forbidden room. They were destined to open a magical book. They were destined to enter an ancient world where adventure and hunky men exist in abundance. Unfortunately Destiny chose that day to take a nap that day. 

While destiny was out of the picture. Chaos was about to throw a wrench into the girls' path. As Miaka and Yuui started toward the Library, another being was already there. This one with more sinister thoughts than high school entrance exams and Hagin-Das. It would do what it did every night, try to take over the world! 

At the National Library, the creature ascended a light of stairs at the back and opened a door that led to the oldest part of the library. This was the section where they kept the old books, the rare books, the books in repair and back issue of Playboy. After briefly looking through the June 1976 issue of Playboy, the creature quickly began to search through the rare book section. 

As Yuui and Miaka exited the train, the creature moved from the front shelves toward the back. The girls ascended the stairs leading to the entrance of the Library, but the creature had already found the magical book it had been looking for and begun his escape. By the time Miaka went for her pig-out at the vending machine in the Library, the creature had already grabbed the first taxi heading toward Tokyo International Airport. 

Through out the theft, the girls felt nothing but a vague sense of missed opportunity. But as soon as the feeling came, it was immediately pushed to the back of their consciousness. Other worries took up most of their attention. Urgent demands like studying, books, exams, and again Hagain-Das dominated their minds. 

*** 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts while the plane get ready for take off. Thanks you for traveling American Airlines. Please tell us if we can make your trip to the United States more enjoyable." Inside the plane, the creature with a mans' face smiled and whispered on word "Sunnydale."   



	2. A Warning in the Dark

**Protector of the Worlds**

**Chapter 2 A Warning in the Dark**   
-----------------------------   
By. Diana Zhou   
-----------------------------   
  


"Hey Buff, up for some Bronz tonight?" 

"Maybe. Giles is on one of his 'it's you sacred duty' kicks. So I gotta go patrol before Bronzing." 

"Oh come on Buff, you can come and watch me being rejected all night long. What more fun can there be?"... 

Three best friends chatted happily together while walking towards the high school library after a long summer apart. When they reached their destination, Xander and Buffy immediately took seats at the large oak table in the middle of the library while Willow sat in a computer stool. Buffy Summers spent the summer with her dad in Los Angeles while Willow Roseburg and Xander Harris spent it in the place they'd grown up calling home, Sunnydale. Actually, the name Sunny_hell_ might have been more accurate because Sunnydale was located right on top of the Hell Mouth, or Boca de Inferno as the Spanish called it. To be more exact, the Hell Mouth was located right underneath the library i the local high school. When they say 'school is hell' in Sunnydale, it was the literal truth. 

Buffy Summers was the Slayer, the Chosen One. The one girl in every generation blah, blah, blah. The monolog came down to Buffy - good, demons - bad. Buffy kill demons and save the world, many times. Her friends Willow and Xander often help with the world saving part. Her watcher Giles helped too... sometimes. The old stiff-neck often came through for them with the research and slayage but one mustn't let the British ego rise too high by actually thanking him. 

"Buffy, will you be patrolling tonight?" Giles, the school librarian and Buffy's watcher, asked his charge. 

"Yes, Giles. For the hundredth time, I will patrol... right before I go to the Bronz." Buffy answered in a hurry hoping against hope Giles missed the last part. 

Unfortunately he didn't. "Buffy you know it's your sacred..." 

"Duty. Blah, blah, blah. I know Giles. But I'm also only 15. The vamp activity is on a major low right now plus school has started - and if that's not evil I don't know what is. Besides it's not as if I'm not doing my job. See, I even put patrolling before Bronzing." Buffy replied smoothly while putting on her brightest smile. She knew the smile was her secret weapon and Giles' undoing. As she predicted, Giles stammered out an affirmative after another round of being careful and watchful. 

*** 

A feint to the left, a jab to the right, and with the final roundhouse, the vampire was down. Within the next millisecond it was gone forever leaving behind a pile of ash. Dusting herself off while rising from the said pile of ash was a petite blond girl with shoulder length hair. She was wearing a pair of black pants and navy blue halter covered with a black leather jacket. 

A low rustle in the bush behind her was the only alert she had of the new intruder. In one fluid motion, she was on her feet ready for whatever evil that was coming her way. With a quick flick of her wrist, a fresh stake appeared in her hand ready to slay. But when the mysterious visitor turns out to be Angel, the stake quickly disappeared into the sleeve of her jacket. 

"What are you doing here? Is there another invincible enemy or world ending prophecy? Oh gosh, could this be a social call?" Buffy asked part in curiosity, part in anger, and mostly in hurt. It had been months, but she still didn't know anything about this mysterious stranger. Yes, she knew his name. Angel. But what else? Most of the time Buffy was very good at figuring out people. But after months of questioning and prodding, she was left with more questions than answers. Who was he, really, underneath that exterior, that _very_ nice exterior? Why was he helping her? Seriously, he couldn't be doing the "mysterious message boy" bit as a full time job. Did he notice how her halter brought out the color of her eyes? Of course not, it was too dark for human eyes to see any kind of color. As that thought passes through her mind, an old biology lecture about rods or cones fluttered through her mind. Why would people need rods in biology? It's not like they are going to be in a fight... That train of thought came to an abrupt halt as Buffy's mind conjured up an image of Snider dressed as a monkey. Definitely no more spacing out, Buffy reprimand herself. 

'No,' Buffy thought bitterly as she remembered again the situation between Angel and her, 'he would never see me as a girlfriend material. I mean, he must be way mature. Plus the 'hey honey, you are in grave danger, see you next month' attitude and behavior doesn't help the situation. Why can't he see that I have feelings for him? That's men for you." 

"No, this is not a social call." Angel echoed her thoughts as if he could hear them. "Something evil and powerful is heading this way..." 

Not giving him a chance to finish, Buffy interrupted him with a dismissive wave of her hands. "Yeah, yeah. 'Watch your back.' Don't worry, I've got the drill down. Or is it 'the fate of the world is in your hands.' Try some new lines once in a while." 

"Look Buffy, you are the Slayer. You should be able to feel it. Couldn't you feel the disturbance in the mystical forces around you?" Angel asked. 

Buffy just stared at him in shock. She could not believe this guy almost quoted from Star Wars. Willow and she had been forced by Xander to watch that movie enough times to know the basic 'feel the Force' quotes. Was he for real? Is this the same Angel that always showed up from nowhere, leaf some encrypted message, and disappeared before Genie could blink her eye? Often literally! 

Buffy was too emotionally exhausted to get mad at the lack of progress in both her love life and understanding yet another cryptic message. All she wanted was to hang with her friends at the Bronz for the few hours remaining before curfew. Then crawl into her soft and comfy bed. But apparently, the forces of evil did not know the meaning of co-operation. "Can you tell me more about this evil dude... name, age, occupation outside of destroying the world etc. That would be helpful." 

"Well, he's old..." 

Buffy snorted, but Angel pointedly ignored the unlady-like sound. 

"He is a vampire wizard." 

That caused a surprised eyebrow to go up. 

"He goes by the name Shadow Snake. That's all I could get from my sources." 

"Well, thanks. I'll relay the message to Giles. Maybe, he can find information about this wizard dude." With out another comment, the Slayer walked away from a man that looked way too hot in a leather jacket for a girl's health. 'Wonder what he's hiding under that jacket... I hope Will and Xander didn't have to wait too long.' A much happier Slayer left the cemetery. 

End of Chapter 2 


	3. What's in a Dream

**Protector of the Worlds**

**Chapter 3 What's In a Dream**   
-----------------------------   
By. Diana Zhou 

Author's note: I want to say thank you to Angela who bravely volunteered to beta this story. I also want to clear up any confusion with the timeline of the story. This story in the Buffy universe takes place soon after the summer of season one. Though Buffy and Angel are attracted to each other, then have not acted too much on those feelings. There fore Buffy was still unaware of Angle's vampirism. Buffy haven't celebrated her birthday yet, so she is still 15. This can be considered an alternate universe story. I'll try to keep it as close to original plot and time as close as possible but the changes in character personalities and behavior might very well occur.   
-----------------------------   
  


'The morning after patrol, how much more excitement does a girl need.' Buff thought grimly. As Buffy retrieve the necessary books for her morning classes from her locker, she contemplates last nights nightmares. She had dreamt nightmares all night long. It hadn't been enough that she had been late to the Bronz - her sleep had to be troubled too. 

The dreams were just a kaleidoscope of images. The nightmares had the sense of 'Prophetic Slayer Dream' stamped all over them. Unfortunately, Buffy couldn't remember much of them. The few images she did remember did not make any sense. A vampire standing in sunlight but not burning to ashes - that one Buffy had attributed to stress. A majestic city where a sleeping blue dragon lay - that one she attributed to too many Chinese Kong-fu movies with Xander. And finally, a blond haired man with cold blue eye and weird symbol on his forehead. Weird as the guy was, Buffy couldn't help but to think 'what a hotty!' She knows, on a subconscious level, that all the dreams are related to the news Angel brought last night. But her consciousness rejected that idea in favor of stress induced nightmares. Of course, being plagued with nightmares was not the end to her troubles. Because of the nightmares, Buffy slept right through her alarm clock causing her to be late for school. 

Buffy woke from her thoughts when her best buds Willow and Xander walked up beside her. She smiled at them and temporarily forgot about Angel, the dreams, and the usual worries of being the Slayer - lack of boyfriend, soon to be apocalypse, lack of smooches... 

At the end of the too long school day, the Scooby Gang congregated at the school library as dictated by habit. During the day, Buffy was able to blissfully forget about the 'abnormal' problems in her life and concentrate on the 'normal' problems of being a teenager: teachers, tests, Snider, etc. But upon entering the school library, all of her worries and apprehensions returns with a vengeance. Buffy was not looking forward to the recap with Giles. The warning would only send him over the edge with "sacred duty" kick. Not only would the coming problem be bad for the health of the world, it's also a killer to a girl's social life. . . not that her social life was all that lively. But after this, it was going to be more active at the cemetery. 'Oh well,' Buffy thought despairingly 'duty calls. As much as it sucked, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.' 

As expected, Giles immediately insisted on more patrol time, more training, and the ever popular research party. 'Oh joy. It was going to be a long couple of days.' 

*** 

"You know, you guys don't have to come with me." Buffy said to Willow and Xander as they made their way to the patrol ground. " Not that I'm not happy that you guys are here, it's just you probably have better things to do than boogy with the undead." 

"Yeah, research parties with Giles have so much appeal." Xander replied. Willow also voiced her ulterior motive for tagging along "Besides, I want to hear all about your meeting with tall, dark, and very sexy last night. Was there lots of smooching? At least there was hand holding, right?" 

"Sorry Will. It's still no go. Right at this moment, Angel is still tall, dark, very sexy and very out dated. He quoted Star Wars to me last night." Buffy replied gloomily. 

"Poor Buffy." Willow sympathized with her friend. She understood the feelings Buffy was having. Because, like Buffy, the crush of her life, Xander, was not responding to anything short of a beating to the head. Willow was just too soft hearted to do that. 

Xander, feeling left out, voiced again his dislike and mistrust of Angel. As the friends quietly bantered on, they failed at first to notice the presence of another being in the near by area. But within minutes, the Slayer senses tingled and Buffy became aware of a non-human presence within the park. She hurriedly hushed Willow and Xander as she listened carefully to the sounds of the night for anything out of ordinary. Her vigilance was soon awarded with the sound of soft footsteps padding on wet grass. 

Quicker than a dumb joke, Buffy raced toward the sound with a stake in hand and her friends trying their best to keep up. 

*** 

Back in the Sunnydale High School Library, Rupert Giles, Watcher and Librarian, was busy researching the vampire known as Shadow Snake. So far, his research had turned up nothing. A big fat zero. At times like this, all he wanted was a nice cup of tea. But he had to settle for the American version of coffee. Horrible abomination. 

He couldn't understand why. He has looked through the Cones, various watcher journals and multitudes of European reference books. "Maybe he kept quite enough in his undead life to escape notice." Giles thought wistfully, "or maybe I'm just searching in the wrong area." with that thought in mind, he hurried into the East Asia section of the library. 

*** 

"Come back here and fight like a man, you coward!" A very angry slayer shouted towards the back of the fleeing vampire as she gave chase. 

"No way, you blond bimbo. I have more important things to do than kick your ass right now." The vampire shouted back to the now seething and infuriated Slayer. 

Indeed, the vampire had plans to take over the world. Well, two worlds, actually. He couldn't be bothered with one little Slayer. As he ran from the petite blond, he also noticed the heartbeats of two others following close behind. 

'Oh, great.' he though to himself. 'Here comes the dreaded Scooby Gang.' anybody who knew anybody in the demon world knew of them. They also knew that they were more often annoying than threatening. But strange as it turned out, their distractions provided just enough of an advantage for the Slayer to over come each of her enemies. 

This particular Slayer was also famous in the demonic world for being unconventional. She had friends, family, and a life outside of slaying. Maybe she wasn't such a boring bitch after all. She even had friends who cared enough to _help_ with her sacred duties. Sheesh, what did a vampire has to do to take over the world anymore? In the time it had taken the vampire to complete those thoughts, the Slayer had become uncomfortably close. 

'Desperate times called for desperate measures.' With that quote in mind, he took out a thin foreign book. As he opened the book, Buffy, Xander, and Willow all arrived at the clearing. When he chanted out loud in a strange language, both Buffy and Xander simultaneously reached for him. He quickly finished his chant and a black aura appeared around him. Just as suddenly, a bright blue light enveloped Buffy. Seeing his friend and crush was in danger, Xander reached out his other hand toward Buffy as the two auras clashed in an explosion of cosmic forces. Buffy, Xander and the unnamed vampire all disappeared. When the aftershock of the explosion wore off, only an unconscious Willow and a lately arrived, bewildered Angle were left in the clearing. 

*** 

Buffy woke up to the disoriented feeling that she was not in Kansas, no, Sunnydale anymore. She turned her head to find Xander lying on the ground next to her face in the dirt. His blue striped polo shirt was all rumpled from the strange encounter. Much of how Xander and she had gotten to wherever they were was a blur. Blinding blue lights and flashes of red. The emptiness of space and vastness of eternity. Those were the impressions Buffy received from that unplanned trip. From the little she could remember of their trip to the Twilight Zone, Buffy knew that she was afraid. Afraid for Xander. Afraid for herself. Afraid for the world. 

During the firework show at the park with the vampire, Buffy felt the cold aura of the vampire when his spell flared to life. The pain of his aura became torturous when she became trapped within the spell. When the pain became unbearable she reached for the closest source of comfort. Apparently, that source of comfort had been Xander. And obviously, because of Buffy, Xander got dragged along for the unplanned vacation. As Buffy looked around her, she noticed it's already morning and there were definitely too many maple trees for them to be in California anymore. Also, apparently the vampire had been transported to a different place than she and Xander - either that or he got dusted. But since there were no piles of ash on the ground, the safer conclusion was that he landed in a different area. 

'I guess it's too much to hope that he lands on a large stake. Humm... I wonder if it's safe to say that was Snake What's-his-name?' Buffy mused. 'He needs better lines and a whole new wardrobe.' 

As Buffy looked closely at her surroundings, she noticed that Xander and she had landed in a farming community. The houses looked to be a few centuries out of date. The people were dressed in, what Buffy imagined to be, stone age fashion. The patched knee was way 80s. Before the ex-prom queen in Buffy could awaken further, Xander groaned and tried to raise his face above dirt level. After several tries, gravity finally let go of Xander's face and allowed him to remove it from the dirt road. On the third attempt, Xander was able to lever his body into a sitting position. 

"Are you okay Xander?" Buffy asks worriedly. 

"Yeah, just tell the trees to stop spinning and I'll be fine." Xander replied with a groan and an attempt to shake his mind clear, reminding him, yet again, that it only works in the movies and with dogs. Laughing quietly at his terrible joke, Buffy walked over to her friend and helped him off the ground. 

"Where are we?" Xander asked as he looks at the surrounding area. 

"I don't know. But we are definitely not in Sunnydale anymore. Shadow Snake probably created that spell to escape. I think when we grabbed onto him we got dragged into it too." Buffy answered. 

"Okay, but I'm assuming he's dead now, right? While I'm lying defenseless on the ground, you kicked his Oriental ass all the way across the International Date Line, right?" Xander asked anxiously. But as he looked around him, he noticed a distinct lack of vampire ash on the ground. Plenty of dirt on the road, but no ashes. 

"Sorry to disappoint you, Xander, but I think he is still alive. Do you remember what happened when that light appeared? I let go of the vamp when we started to fall. I remember grabbing on to you, though. Maybe that's why we ended up at the same place and the vamp landed somewhere else." 

After a moment of consideration, Xander replied "I hope he lands on a sharp stick. Wait. . . we have to find him and make him take us home first before you dust him." Xander started to get hysterical. 

"Xander, calm down! We will find a way to get back. He can't be far from here. Let's head into the city and take a look around." 

"What city?" Xander asked as he looked around. "Oh, that city." He breathed when he spotted the enormous city. 

It was a quite a sight to see. The city wall were made of red bricks and lined with sky blue tiles. The entrance to the city was guarded by an enormous bronze double door. From the view on the hill, Xander could see a city within the city. The Inner city was even more breathtaking than the city that surrounded it. The enormous statues inside that city could be seen clearly even from the hill. In the very center, the biggest building rose above all others on a pedestal of grand staircases leading up to the entrance facing their direction. In a word, the city was magnificent. 

"Yeah, now if you are done gaping, can we go?" Buffy asked impatiently. 

"Umm, oh..." for a lack of better expression, Xander finally gave up trying to sound intelligent and nodded his head in agreement. 

*** 

They passed through the gates with no more than a spare glance from the guards for their strange clothing and the blond color of Buffy's hair. Though they didn't want any trouble, they expected it from the city guards when they realize Buffy and Xander were foreigners. But trouble did not find them until they were well inside the city. In a quiet back ally, a gang of thugs cornered Buffy and Xander. 

"Hey little lady, wanna show us a good time?" the leader, Buffy assumed, leered down at her across the tip of his nose. The men behind him gave the moron the courage to withstand the glare of daggers Buffy was sending his way. Obviously they thought that because their prey was out numbered with a ratio of three to one, this was going to be easy pickings. They seemed more weary of Xander than of Buffy. Buffy was not even considered a threat by the 'macho' men because she was a girl. 

"Sorry, as a rule I don't hang with losers. You guys just aren't my type." Buffy replied flippantly. 

"Ummm Buffy, I don't think antagonizing them is such a good idea. I mean there are six of them only two of us. They have weapons, and, did I mention we are out-numbered?" Xander observed nervously. 

"That's right sweet cheeks. Come along quietly and we'll show you a good time. Who knows, you might even enjoy it." The leader bellowed. 

At that point, Buffy was just too cranky to care anymore about hitting 'normal' humans. They have been searching for hours already and they still did not have any clue as to where the vamp could be, where they were, or how they were able to understand the language. And, on top of all the trouble with the thugs, they were now hungry. It had been almost 12 hours since Buffy's last meal and half an hour since Xander's last candy bar. 

"Sorry guys. I'm just not in the mood to deal with you losers." Buffy replied tiredly. 

The boss' face contorted into a mask of fury. "What you don't get little girl, is that you have NO choice. Get'em!" 

***(30 seconds later)*** 

Four of the thugs were lying on the ground with broken nose or aching muscles. The rest of the thugs were huddling against each other hoping their ball of flesh would keep them safe. The leader had been the first of the group to go down after Buffy had landed a punch to his nose. The rest had followed like flies. 

As Buffy advanced towards the men for Round Two of 'stress relief,' a new voice suddenly boomed "Halt!" 

The figure that the voice belonged to closed the distance between himself and the pile of unconscious men. From Buffy's vantage point, his light blond hair could be seen before any other characteristics could be distinguished. The man was tall, not as tall as Angel but tall enough to tower over Buffy. He was wearing armor with blue dragons etched into the plates and helmet and spikes protruding from the shoulder plate. His piercing blue eyes made a sweep of the scene in front of him as he sat calmly on top of his horse. The trio of guards behind him were standing ready for danger or any order the man might issue. When his eyes made contact with Buffy's, he paused for a brief moment as if in recognition. 

"What happened, my lady?" He asked Buffy when his finally spoke again. 

Buffy defiantly looked straight into the man's eyes and demands "Who the hell are you and why should I tell you?" 

"I am the general of Kotou. First of your seshi miko-sama. I am called Nakago." 

End Chapter 3 


	4. Suzaku no Miko

**Protector of the Worlds**

**Chapter 4 Suzaku no Miko**   
-----------------------------   
By. Diana Zhou 

Author's Note: Anyone out of character is done so from an entirely artistic point of view.   
----------------------------- 

"Giles! Giles!" Willow shouted frantically as she and Angel sail through the Sunnydale High Library doors. 

"Yes, yes Willow. You don't have to shout. I have perfectly functional eardrums. What happened? Where's Buffy and Xander? I thought the three of you went patrolling together." Giles steps outside from the back of the library stacks. 

"There was this blue light and, and whoosh. Buffy and Xander just went poof!" 

"Oh my. Disappeared you say? You better sit and calm down a bit and start from the beginning." The jumbled account Willow was trying to force out of her mouth just made Giles confused and worried. The words 'poof' and 'Buffy' in the same sentence does not bode well. He gently led the flustered girl toward a chair while Angel retrieved a cup of water. 

"Here, drink this." Angel said gently. He handed Willow a cup of water hoping she will feel better and can tell the story from the beginning. After a few swallows, Willow calmed down enough to relate to Giles and Angel what went wrong with the patrol. 

"Well, we were patrolling in the park on the west side of town. This vampire just jumps out from no where. It was all gurr. Buffy tried to stake him but he ran away before even putting up a fight. We all chased after him. But Buffy and Xander got to him first. When I got there, all I saw was this bright blue light around Buff and Xander. And   
then, nothing. The light was so bright that I couldn't keep my eyes open. When I opened my eyes again, Buffy and Xander are all gone!" 

"What happened to the vampire? Is he staked?" Giles asked worriedly. 

Before Willow could try to answer, Angel volunteered his opinion on that subject. "I don't think so. There wasn't any ashes at the area Buffy and Xander disappeared. Which reminds me, I found this near the spot this vanished." Willow looks to Angel as he takes out a small paper volume from the inside of his black leather jacket. Curious at the appearance of a book at the scene of a battle, Giles winced in sympathy toward the abuse of that book. 

"What is it?" Giles asks. 

"It's a book Giles. You know, the things you are married to." Willow gently teased. 

"I know it's a book, Willow" Giles retorts tartly. "I see that Xander's lack of wit is rubbing off on you. I hardly expected those kind of mindless comment from you. I just want to know why was this book there in the first place." Turning to Angel, "Did the book belong to the vampire? Do you know if that is the vampire you warned us about last night?" 

"Sorry, Giles." Angel replies quietly, "I was walking near the park when I though I heard fighting. When I got there, the light show was just coming to a close. But I know this, the light came from the book. When the book closed by it self, the light went away. But for what it's worth, I think the vampire that made Buffy and Xander disappear _is_ the one we are looking for, Shadow Snake." 

After that stunning retelling and the last bit of information, Giles sat down in one of the chairs and began cleaning his glasses. The information overload caused a short but eloquent response from the British man, "oh, my." That was just too much information for one night. Willow sympathetically reached out a hand and patted him on the back murmuring "there, there." 

The world is about to end, Giles thought despairingly. But this time, the Slayer is not here to stop it. In fact, the Slayer is MIA, missing in action. It seems no one in the world know where Buffy and Xander are except Buffy, Xander, and maybe the vampire wizard. But none of them are available to question. Hopefully the strange book Angel brought back could offer some answers. Now were is that darn Chinese dictionary? It's been ten years since he had to do extensive reading in Chinese. He is bound to be rusty. 

****** "The book is called Universe of the Four Gods Sky and Earth" Giles related after looking over the title. There was a tickle at the back of his mind when he read that name. But the harder he tries to hold on to that thought, the further it fled. 

Before Giles could peruse the thought further, Willow shyly offered to research the book and check for cross references in international library catalogs. She was sure that book would be at least mentioned in one library archive, it looks antique enough. Because she has already proven herself repeatedly in the past concerning her research abilities, Giles did not think twice to entrust her with the book. She can probably be quicker 'surfing' on that dreadful contraption call computer that looking up in the text volumes, Giles thought with a slight resentfully. While Angel has proven to be a wealth of information, Giles doubts Chinese is in his range of expertise. 

Cordelia Chase chose that moment to sweep through the library doors. Her designer heels loudly clicking on the tiles of the floor. By the sound of the heels, she seemed to be annoyed. Not particularly new experience for Willow or Giles, but Angel might have a little problem being in a room with her for a prolonged period of time. Cordelia could be. . . intense, if a person does not meet her criteria of social acceptability. Giles often wonders why Cordelia bothers at all to be around. It really seems she dislikes spending time with the group. Yet, she keeps coming back. Though it's always good to have an extra hand to help with the research, the bickering between Xander and her were most often distracting and annoying. Now that Xander is not present to bicker with, Giles huffed a sign of relief. For the first time since the disappearance of Buffy and Xander, Giles is thankful they are gone. 

Cordelia took a quick survey of the library. The noticeably absent Buffy and Xander caused one perfectly plucked eyebrow to rise. As much as Giles needs and wants a comic relief right now, he just doesn't have the patience for her remarks about the absent members. Before Cordelia could speak, Giles forestalled her questions by asking her to help Willow with the translation of the text. Reluctantly, the fashionable Miss. Chase walks toward the center table complaining about the injustice and slavery all the way. As she passes Angel's corner, she tosses her hair and stood taller with shoulders back. To Giles, who watched the whole proceeding with grim mystification, teenagers are more mystifying that the most archaic spells. Giles went back to his own research when Cordelia opened one of the tomes after Willow quietly filled her in on what transpired earlier that night. 

After an hour of quiet research because Xander was not present to crack jokes, Willow suddenly exclaimed in glee "I found it! I found it! I know what happened to Buffy and Xander." That brought a floury of movement from the other occupants of the library. 

"Where in the world are they?" Giles asked 

Cordelia, in a very bored fashion, said "So you finally found those two losers." 

Lastly, Angel asks in a shy hopeful manner "Is Buffy okay?" 

Angel's statement caused a small inward smile within Willow. That statement showed how much Angel really felt about Buffy. As stoic as Angel pretended to be toward Buffy's advances, it was all just pretend. Hopefully, when Buffy and Xander returns, Angel could profess his feelings to Buffy. 'This is so romantic!' 

Willow put away her matchmaker thoughts when Giles impatiently cleared his throat. "Well," she began, "I think the incantation Shadow Snake used was not a spell he conjured up. It was actually the opening spelling inscribed in the first page of this book." 

"What?!" Giles and Angel chorused. 

"When I translated the first page of the book, I noticed that several passages were similar to opening spells I've come across. Opening spells are spells designed to create portals to different dimensions, worlds or realities. It needs a physical anchor for the spell to work. The anchor works like a key. Only through a ritual could the key be activated. When it is activated, the portal will be created. Most of the time, the spell is anchored in a form of a small charm or jewelry. But this time, the book is the physical anchor for the spell. The book has the opening spell woven into the text. Here let me read it so you can better understand what I mean. . ." 

****** 

'It's so warm.' Willow thought dreamily as she snuggles closer to Mr. Fluffy - her stuffed dog. 'Since when did Mr. Fluffy wear Channel #5?' Mr. Fluffy felt different. It was warm and harder. It seemed to have a breath! That realization jerked Willow awake from her groggy state of mind. Mr. Fluffy's pastel blue fur changed to dark chocolate brown mane. His white tummy turned into a golden Kelvin Cline original. The baby blue soles turned into a three inch stiletto. Mr. Fluffy turned into Cordelia Chase! That startling realization brought Willow wide awake. Cordelia, who woke up a few moments before, looked at Willow with her usual look of disdain. 

As soon as Cordelia felt Willow was lucid enough to answer questions, they compared notes on their last memories before waking up in the middle of a prairie. Both of them remembered the excitement at the discovery of the opening spell. Both of them remembered Willow reading a translation of the first page of the book. Cordelia remembered looking down at the original trying to follow along as Willow read the translation. Next thing they remember were bright red lights flooding their vision and a sense of falling. Apparently, Willow and Cordelia just found out first hand how to activate the opening spell. Reading the first page of that book will activate the opening spell, regardless of language. 


End file.
